1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera capable of selectively setting plural operating modes, and more particularly to a mode setting device for use in such camera.
2. Related Background Art
There is already known a camera having plural auto exposure control modes such as programmed auto exposure (AE) mode, shutter-preferential AE mode and diaphragm-preferential AE mode. When the power switch is turned off at the end of a photographing operation, such camera is generally designed to memorize the AE mode selected immediately before said end of operation. Thus, when the power switch is turned on next time, the camera is initialized at the AE mode selected at the end of the preceding photographing operation. Such initially selected AE mode can be altered by the manipulation of an operating member.
Such selection and alteration of plural operating mode are applied not only to the auto exposure control modes but also to plural auto focusing (AF) modes such as single AF servo mode and continuous AF servo mode, and plural data recording modes such as date recording mode and time recording mode. Also for light metering there are plural operating modes such as center-weighted light metering mode, spot light metering mode and multi-area light metering mode.
Depending on the photographer, a certain mode is used more than others. For example, among the AE modes, a photographer mainly taking photographs with rapidly moving objects such as in sports photography will frequently use the shutter-preferential AE mode, while a photographer mainly taking portraits will frequently use the diaphragm-preferential AE mode.
If such photographer occasionally uses a mode other than the mode frequently used by him (most frequent mode) and turns off the power switch, or if the camera is used by another person who uses a mode other than said most frequently mode, the camera will be set, at the turning-on of the power switch for the next photographing operation, at such other mode than the most frequent mode. Consequently the photographer has to change the mode to the most frequent mode before the photographing operation, but he may obtain an unsatisfactory photograph if such mode changing operation is forgotten, or may lose the optimum moment of photographing due to such mode changing operation.